J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) and Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) are both large-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.
Risk and Volatility
J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Old Dominion Freight Line has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Old Dominion Freight Line's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| J.B. Hunt Transport Services | 5.31% | 21.07% | 8.96% |
| Old Dominion Freight Line | 15.87% | 20.47% | 15.40% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
69.3% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.6% of Old Dominion Freight Line shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.5% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.7% of Old Dominion Freight Line shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings for J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Old Dominion Freight Line, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| J.B. Hunt Transport Services | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Old Dominion Freight Line | 1 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 2.36 |
J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus price target of $148.0526, indicating a potential downside of 1.87%. Old Dominion Freight Line has a consensus price target of $209.6429, indicating a potential downside of 5.63%. Given J.B. Hunt Transport Services' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe J.B. Hunt Transport Services is more favorable than Old Dominion Freight Line.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Old Dominion Freight Line's gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| J.B. Hunt Transport Services | $9.17 billion | 1.74 | $516.32 million | $4.89 | 30.82 |
| Old Dominion Freight Line | $4.11 billion | 6.33 | $615.52 million | $5.11 | 43.52 |
Old Dominion Freight Line has lower revenue, but higher earnings than J.B. Hunt Transport Services. J.B. Hunt Transport Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Old Dominion Freight Line, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
J.B. Hunt Transport Services pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Old Dominion Freight Line pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services pays out 22.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Old Dominion Freight Line pays out 11.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Old Dominion Freight Line has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Summary
Old Dominion Freight Line beats J.B. Hunt Transport Services on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
